MayDay Mayhem
May 1st, 2004

Report by Greg Lowe
Photos by Ryan Hamilton

MayDay Mayhem held in Fridley, Mn, produced the best up in the air, anyone can win cards this announcer has ever had the pleasure of viewing. The seven card contest had the crowd on its feet screeming for more while the boxers happily obliged.

The night led off when Brandon Busse (0-1) from White Earth Nation squared off against Joe Lynch (pro debut) from Buffalo, Mn. As quick as the round started, Busse had Lynch on the canvas. After that however, Lynch took over. With the crowd on its feet the bloodied and battered Busse gave a valiant effort while these two middleweights slugged it out. Joe Lynch was just the better boxer, even sending Busse through the ropes in the fourth on the one and only knockdown of the fight. All three judges scored the bout 40-35 in favor of Lynch.

In the second match of the evening, Matt "the Swinging Swede" Anderson(1-2) of Monticello, Mn, made quick work of Mike "Gottem Bleedin' " Stevens (pro debut) from White Earth Nation. From the get go, "Gottem Bleedin" was on the ground and bleeding. Throughout the short bout, Anderson dropped the 307 pound Stevens several times. Letting lose an arsenol of punches before referee Bobby Brunette saw enough and stopped the fight in the first round, Anderson took the win on a TKO.

When it looked sure that the first fight of the night couldn't be topped, Brad Laffin(1-0) of North Branch, Mn, made the next bout look something like that out of a Rocky Balboa flick. Rick "the Rock" Zufall(6-3) of Spencer, Indiana, seemingly dominated the whole fight. Even knocking down Laffin in the first round. But like a great ending to a movie, Laffin came out of nowhere in the second and dropped "the Rock" more like a boulder. Zufall hit the canvas hard and stayed there, Laffin took the victory and improves his record to 2-0, with 2 knockouts.

In the fourth showdown of the evening "TNT" Troy Lowry (24-3) of St. Paul de-horned Hector "the Bull" Ramierez of Mexico. Troy Lowry, returning after a brief retirement, manhandled the outmatched Ramierez throughout the four round jr. middleweight bout. With the crowd chanting "TNT, TNT, TNT!!!" Lowry rocked Ramierez, dropping him several times. But the game Ramierez wouldn't quit, and even at times was elusive. It wasn't enough to sway the judges though, "TNT" took every round and the decision.

Coming from the Sargent boxing family in northern Minnesota, it was hard to gauge before the bout if Brian "Little Mister" Sargent Jr. (1-0) was the favorite or the underdog against the 2003 upper midwest golden gloves champion Tony Grygelko (pro-debut). Early, Grygelko was the aggressor in this wild swinging fest, but he soon settled down. About halfway through the one round fight Sargent took a hard shot to the abdomen, and completely fell apart. The first round ended with Grygelko pummeling his opponent, and both boxers heading to their corners. But to everyones suprise, Sargent through in the towel and Grygelko took the TKO before the start of round two.

Chris "the Hammer" Holt from Detroit Lakes, Mn (7-3) had his hands full when he battled Jeff "Boom Boom" Baker (5-0) of Indianapolis in the co-Main event of the night. Baker had the instant advantage with a six inch height advantage in this super middleweight bout. And the 6' 3" frame fell early in the first round, when Holt laid down a picture perfect right hook to Bakers head. Baker came back in a big way in the second when he put Holt down to a knee, and after that he took control. The crowd loved the numerous power punches, it was truly a win that could of been taken by any boxer, at any time with any punch. But after six rounds the three judges all saw it the same way 57-56 for Jeff "Boom Boom" Baker.

Early in 1998 Kwan "the Bomb" Manassah of Minneapolis beat Marty "the Wolfman" Lindquist(10-3) in a bout that has haunted him for years. The Anoka native wanted his shot at redemption and he got it. In the fourth round after getting beat like a rough steak, "the Bomb" got dropped with a huge hook to the head. After a desperate attempt to get back up, it just wasn't happening and Lindquist celebrated his victory loudly. Maybe a rubber match in the works? I guess we'll see, untill next time ladies and Gentlemen, we'll keep it rockin'.